The Cavs' furious comeback attempt in the second half eventually fell short in a 102-97 loss to Dallas on Monday afternoon.

The Cavs at one point trailed by 24, but thanks to 16 points from Kyrie Irving in the third quarter and a 21-rebound performance from Anderson Varejao, the Cavs cut the lead down to 2 points in the fourth quarter, 91-89, after Luol Deng hit a 3-pointer.

Monta Ellis missed two free throws in with 3.4 seconds left to give the Cavs a final shot at tying the game, down 100-97.

With 2.8 seconds left, Jarrett Jack couldn't in-bound the ball and was called for a 5-second violation. That led to Ellis hitting two free throws and putting the game out of reach.